Deer hunters get a wet start to shotgun season

It was a good day for it to rain, at least from a deer’s perspective. Downpours apparently kept many hunters home Monday, the first day of deer hunting season where the use of shotguns is allowed.

Robert Wang

It was a good day for it to rain, at least from a deer’s perspective.

Downpours apparently kept many hunters home Monday, the first day of deer hunting season where the use of shotguns is allowed.

At about 5 p.m., two hours before closing, The Trading Post on Erie Street reported that it had tagged 29 deer brought in by hunters that day. Last year, it tagged 67 deer shot on the first day of hunting season. State regulations require all hunters who kill a deer to bring it to a designated vendor who attaches a metal tag to the dead animal, ensuring to the meat processor that it was hunted legally.

Charles Stout, 33, of Massillon, whose 15-year-old stepson was at The Trading Post to renew his hunting license for a Sunday deer hunt, had flirted with the idea of snagging some venison on his day off Monday.

But “no, not in the rain. Probably wouldn’t see anything anyways.”

At Ohio Outdoor Sports in Bethlehem Township, an employee said the store had only tagged 20 deer that day, about a third of what would be expected on the first day of hunting season. The Kames Sport Center in Lake Township said it had tagged only 10.

But Kim Waller, a cashier at Rocky’s convenience store in Waynesburg, said the store had tagged about 70 deer Monday, a bit ahead of last year’s pace.

“These guys are coming in soaked to the bone, dripping wet,” she said. “We haven’t stopped since early this morning.”

Despite the conditions, for many deer, it was their last day.

Some time after 2:30 p.m., Kevin Oldaker, 19, of Green, appeared at The Trading Post to pick up his tag. Keith Carpenter, an owner of the Trading Post, went to inspect the antlered buck lying in Oldaker’s pickup truck bed.

“That’s one of the biggest ones we’ve had in this year,” said Carpenter, who estimated it was 185 to 200 pounds and 3 years old.

After showing his prize, Oldaker said he had arrived at a spot off Route 93 near Brewster at 6 a.m. He waited for about two hours before he spotted the buck. He fired his shotgun. The deer ran for 50 yards before falling.

Oldaker said the rain was an advantage, muffling his sound and minimizing his scent.

“This is the perfect weather,” Oldaker said. “Not too cold. Not a lot of wind. It was a good morning for a hunt.”

Hunters will be allowed to use guns to bring down deer until Sunday and on Dec. 15 and 16. There are different seasons depending on the weapon used, which can be crossbows, long bows, shotguns, handguns and muzzle-loaded guns, that can fire only shot before reloading.

The rules that prevent hunters from killing too many deer are complicated. But generally, a hunter can’t harvest more than one antlered deer during a license year, no more than two deer on a day, no more than three deer in a designated zone and no more than seven a year.

Jamey L. Graham, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, expects 400,000 hunters to harvest at least 120,000 deer this year, out of a population of 610,000 white-tailed Ohio deer.

She said because the deer’s natural predators, the mountain lions and wolves, are nearly extinct in Ohio, deer if they were not hunted would starve when the population outgrows their food supply. Hunting also reduces the chance of vehicles colliding with deer, she said, and “provides venison for many, many families. Thousands of pounds are donated to the needy.”

- Go to wildohio.com, click on “Hunting & Trapping,” and then click on “Getting Started.”

- You need to take an 8-10 hour course to get a hunting license, which has to be renewed annually. Those who get an apprenticeship license can hunt for up to three seasons without taking the course as long as they hunt with a licensed hunter who’s an adult. License fees vary from free for seniors to $19.

- You need to buy a permit for each deer you intend to kill. Fees range from free to $24. The limit on the number of permits you can get depend on where you hunt and the type of deer you’re hunting. Licenses and permits can be bought at designated vendors or through wildohio.com.

- You can only hunt at certain times of the year, depending on what weapon you’re using and your age.

- You have to wear orange, and those with guns can only hunt from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset, to reduce the chance of a shooting accident.

- Hunters have to place temporary tags on deer they kill. Then, within a certain period of time, go to a designated deer check station, to get a permanent tag.

- If you hunt on private property, you have to get the landowner’s permission.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA ~ 30 Walnut St. Waynesboro, PA 17268 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service